Today marks the end of the requirement for travellers to India to complete paperwork and upload results of negative RT-PCR testing on the government’s Air Suvidha website. For international travellers, the elimination of this pre-embarkation procedure is probably a relief. It is timely since vaccination coverage is a major factor in Covid-19 becoming an endemic disease.
In August 2020, the Air Suvidha site went live, requiring all foreign travellers to enter mandatory information about their trip and Covid vaccination or testing status. Authorities were also able to determine whether a person was travelling from a high-risk area thanks to the pre-arrival self-registration page.
The Union Health Ministry mandated submitting information on the portal late last year as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spread. This information included passengers’ 14-day travel history and negative RT-PCR test reports, which were used to determine whether a traveller was arriving from a “at-risk” country.
Many viewed the trip requirement as a barrier as the number of foreign passengers began to rise when India removed its two-year ban on regular international flights on March 27, 2022. The system’s inability to handle the surge in foreign travellers when regular international flights were resumed was one factor in the problem.
It took hours for travellers to obtain an Air Suvidha acknowledgement certificate, which was required for travel, and travellers claimed that they were unable to submit Covid negative certifications. Although systems were upgraded, this did not help the flyers’ suffering.
When regular foreign flights began in March, a request was made, but it wasn’t taken seriously until around June. Over the question of its abolition, there was disagreement inside the government as well. While the Aviation and Tourism Ministries supported eliminating the restriction, the Health Ministry was hesitant and supported keeping it in place since there was a chance that India might import new variations.
The government abolished the obligation to wear face masks when flying last week. The restrictions imposed in India during the Covid era included a cap on the number of internal flights, a prohibition on routine overseas flights, ticket limitations, no onboard meal service, etc. Jyotiraditya Scindia’s appointment as aviation minister in July 2021 marked the beginning of the aviation industry’s journey toward normality.
